Sciver-Brunts star against Pakistan as England turn attention to T20 World Cup semi-final | Cricket News

February 21, 2023 admin

England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt is the form batter in the world, according to Tammy Beaumont, who also praised Katherine Sciver-Brunt’s display in England’s emphatic T20 World Cup victory over Pakistan.

Knowing a win would see them through to the semi-finals as group winners, having already ensured qualification with victory over the West Indies, England put on a near flawless performance in Cape Town, with Nat Sciver-Brunt finishing on 81 not out from just 40 balls, as England set a record World Cup score of 213.

She is now the highest run-scorer in the tournament, with a 176 in four matches and goes into Friday’s semi-final in the form of her life.

Speaking on Sky Sports Cricket after the match, Beaumont believes Sciver-Brunt can get even better as the tournament goes on.

“Those two [Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones, who brought up their hundred partnership from just 46 balls] work really well together. The way Nat is playing at the moment, there is no-one better in the world.

“She is striking the ball so hard. It’s brilliant to watch. She is going from strength to strength and getting better with every game.”

It isn’t just Sciver-Brunt who has impressed with the bat, with all of the top order getting runs at some point in the tournament so far.

Under new head coach Jon Lewis, the batters have been given a licence to thrill, and Beaumont believes the younger players have taken some of the pressure off the experienced heads.

“I think they’ve almost taken the pressure off the older players. Normally they get off to such good starts, and they can build off the back of that,” she said.

“Nat Sciver-Brunt was playing an anchor role at the Commonwealth Games but now she is able to player her natural game. She scores so easily.

“The key thing is you see contributions all the way down the order with the batting. [Danni] Wyatt today, [Sophia] Dunkley has got a good score, Alice Capsey got the fastest 50 in the tournament so far, Nat Sciver-Brunt is in red-hot form and Amy Jones was fantastic today. They’re not searching for any batting, and the spin trio are exceptional.”

Former England men’s captain Nasser Hussain felt that England hadn’t played the perfect game until Tuesday, but it is “the ideal way to get to the semi-finals”, with captain Heather Knight saying after the match that she was pleased with the performance with the ball in hand after a below-par effort against India.

Despite England’s narrow victory against India, Katherine Sciver-Brunt was hit around the park in the early exchanges and finished with figures of 0-39 from three overs and an economy of 13 an over.

However, she bounced back in typical feisty fashion, taking two wickets in her four overs and finishing with an economy of 3.50 an over.

“That is quite a rare occurrence that Katherine has a day like she did against India. It was very important for her to get back out there,” Beaumont said.

“She is a real competitor and always trying to get at the batter. She is the heartbeat of the England team. Getting her back out there in good form is very important.”

England will face either South Africa and New Zealand in the second semi-final from Cape Town on Friday. On Thursday, Australia face India for the second available spot in the final. Watch both matches and Sunday’s T20 World Cup final live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event.

Source link